Lawrence Garfinkel, president of the Historical Society of the Merricks, organizes the Declaration of Independence reading every July 4.

The Historical Society of the Merricks staged a group reading of the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July, the 237th anniversary of the declaration’s adoption by the Second Continental Congress, to commemorate Independence Day.

Merokeans gathered at 10 a.m. in the gazebo at the Long Island Rail Road station on Merrick Avenue, as did townspeople throughout the original 13 Colonies in 1776, to hear the words of Thomas Jefferson proclaiming the United States’ separation from Great Britain.

Fourteen people, including Lawrence Garfinkel, the historical society president, took part in the reading. Participants followed along with the text of the famous treatise in printed pamphlets, with many displaying their patriotic fervor by dressing in red, white and blue and waving American flags.